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s anyone who lives in or visits Mallorca knows, flocks of fluffy sheep are a frequent sight across the island. From the northwest mountains down throughout the central valley and onto the south, postcard worthy sheep are often seen grazing on grass or seeking out shade below an old olive tree. In certain areas, it is not that uncommon to be stopped on the road as a herd passes by. Sheep form a valuable resource for Mallorca beyond just their cuteness-factor, and until recently, that resource was mainly for meat. But what of all that thick, warm wool?

Enter Llanatura, an exciting new initiative and circular wool factory in Inca that is developing new possibilities for the almost endless supply of local sheep’s wool. Founded in 2020 by Gemma Salvador and Eugenia Marcote, with the support of the Fondation Garrover, a non-profit organisation based in Inca that supports people with mental health issues through social and work programs, Llanatura is educating and expanding the potential uses of local wool in new and inventive ways. Salvador, an environmental consultant and Marcote, a fibre artist, met during the pandemic, at a time when they were independently thinking about new ways of making a positive impact in Mallorca, both wanting to connect with the island’s natural beauty, use local resources and create a sustainable project. They began on a small scale, finding solutions to cleaning and processing the wool, all of which is done using neutral soaps and minimal water.  Cleaning Mallorcan sheep wool is complicated and time consuming and had always been an impediment to earlier projects that used it as a primary material. As Salvador explains, “Wool can be an environmental problem when it is burned and discarded, but it is also a local product, a sustainable and recyclable product with enormous potential from protective clothing (it naturally absorbs humidity and wet) to sound absorption to stuffing for cushions or insulation”.